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September 3, 2024

sandra web 

From the desk of:

Sandnra Kidd ¦ Senior Partner

It’s All About the ABCs

I am having some home renovation projects done this month. Because none are major, I am managing the projects myself, juggling the scheduling and sequencing of the plumber, the painters, the basement fix-it people, the tree service…you get the idea.

Serving as my own general contractor for these various projects reminds me of the importance of A) solid planning, B) good communication, C) proactive collaboration–and then D) flexibility when A, B, and C hit a snag. As you plan your fall 2024 stewardship, cultivation, and solicitation calendar, you will want to keep your ABCs in mind.

A)  Solid Planning. Does your planning consist of taking last year’s 2023 calendar and replacing “2023” with “2024”? If so, you may want to reconsider. While I am a firm believer that consistency is a good practice for annual fundraising, fall 2024 is different. This is election season—and Americans, including your donors, are getting bombarded with messaging. This fall, you want your annual giving solicitations to stand out in the crowd. You also may need to be more persistent in follow-up on your asks, using personal two-way conversations with donors whenever possible.

B)  Good Communication. External communications with your prospects, donors, alumni, patrons, and friends will be most effective when they are clear, concise, personal, and pertinent. One tip: Count the number of times you say “I” or “we”—versus “you”—when crafting fundraising letters, emails, and texts (if you use text solicitations, please don’t send one to me!). Your appeals should focus on your prospects’ motivations, why they support your cause, and what they need to know to make an informed philanthropic decision.

C)  Proactive Collaboration. Internally, a planning meeting with key staff in marketing, communications, fundraising, constituent relations, and volunteer management will help ensure that everyone is in sync for the coming months. Using your office and database management tools—common calendar, priority lists, dashboards—will help keep your internal team on schedule. And please be sure to report results out to everyone on the team, senior management, Board members, and fundraising volunteers.

D)  Flexibility. You can rest assured that something this fall, next spring, next week, will not go according to plan. When that happens, hit the pivot button! Good luck!

(As for me, I am back to waiting on the plumber, who promised to come no later than 6 pm today….)

Don’t Ignore Women in Your Fundraising

Is your nonprofit holding on to decades-old fundraising strategies that primarily target men — specifically older white men. Did you know that those strategies could result in the loss of billions of dollars in donations as women are becoming wealthier and more engaged in philanthropy?

With U.S. women expected to inherit up to $30 trillion over the next decade, according to the Bank of America Institute, many more could join the ranks of Mackenzie Scott and Melinda Scott Gates. Already, women are changing the philanthropy world by spearheading more group funding approaches. Funding collectives, largely led and dominated by women, donated more than $3.1 billion from 2017 to 2023, data shows.

Does your organization need to do a better job of appealing to these women? The Women’s Philanthropy Institute at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy has published recommendations for how nonprofits can include women donors in their fundraising plans. Check them out.

Speaking of Women…Nonprofit Gender Pay Gap is Widening 

The gender gap in CEO pay at large nonprofits persists with female chief executives earning, on average, 77 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts—a decline from 82 cents in 2012.

A report by Candid found that median CEO compensation for nonprofits of all sizes reached a new high of $132,077 in 2022 from $118,541 in 2018—an increase of 11.4% over five years. Among CEOs at large nonprofits—with budgets over $50 million—the median salary for male CEOs was $559,770 compared to $430,640 for female CEOs, a compensation gap of 23%.

According to the report, a substantial gender gap also persists in the leadership of larger nonprofits. While women are well represented as CEOs of smaller nonprofits—58% among nonprofits with budgets of $250,000 or less and 61% for nonprofits with budgets between $250,000 and $500,000—among large nonprofits, women accounted for only 29% of CEOs.

The report can be found here.

We Know Social Service Organizations
For more than 35 years, Alexander Haas has been a fixture in the nonprofit community. We are honored to have worked with some of the largest, and some of the smallest, organizations across the country that help communities be a better place to live.

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Whether your need is in Capital Campaign, Annual Fund Campaign, Major Gifts, Leadership Annual Giving, Planned Giving or all of the above, we take a fresh approach to nonprofit fundraising.